Archive for the Emotional Health Category

A Vow Is A Promise Or Oath These vows may seem very similar to the vows that you exchanged on your wedding day. “I, take thee, to be my wedded husband/wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my faith [or] pledge myself to you.” There is a lot of rich content in the typical Christian Marriage Vows including implied sacrifices that may stretch the average human to the brink of questioning what they have gotten themselves into. It can seem that we commit to these vows without really acknowledging how they actually play out during the course of marriage. This is very reminiscent of the vows that we made during our growing up years.

Have you ever reached a crisis point in your marriage; hopelessly wondering if restoration was even possible or worth it? Perhaps you’ve asked yourself – what happened? Two people came together in the name of love, making a covenant before God and family, only to now be spending more time in conflict than close connection. Unfortunately, this is more of a commonality in marriages today than ever. So where can you go when you feel like you’re at odds with your spouse? …When you believe that hope has been lost? Back to foundation of why God brought you together, that’s where! I believe that God brings people together with the intention for both to be stretched and to grow into the individuals that He desires them to become. I also believe that he uses the conflict areas in our marriage as a mirror to show us ‘growth opportunities’ we can

Have you ever wondered why you selected the person that you did to be your significant other or spouse? Did you create the list of all of the qualities that you wanted and go after that person? Or did you decide that the person that found you or came across your path was just the right one without having to put a lot of effort into analyzing if it would work or not? Did you end up selecting someone just like your mom or dad without even intending to? I’m going to suggest there was more underneath the surface in your selection that what you think! I often hear women say that they married someone just like their dad and men say they married someone just like their mom. Maybe you have said that many times to yourself or maybe in the midst of a lovers spat you have used

A few years back my wife and I were watching the movie “Water for Elephants” when I was reminded about how relationships can be romanticized in our culture today. If you haven’t seen the movie, the main story line is about an attractive young man (Jacob) who is left broke and homeless after his parents’ untimely death. These events lead him to joining the circus as a vet where he would find himself working under an unstable and abusive boss by the name of August. August is Married to an attractive woman named Marlena who quickly becomes the apple of Jacob’s eye. I will spare you what happens in the movie in case you haven’t seen it, but you can imagine how a love triangle unfolds pretty quickly in this story. I found myself toward the end of the movie rooting for Marlena to find true love. It was then

One definition of the word “influence” is: The capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself. Influence has always been something that has amazed me. People can be influenced by many different things in many different ways. Some people are easily influenced by others. Some people are influencers and have a tendency to influence everyone that they are around. At some level each of us has influence over the people around us, especially in our marriage. It is up to us to determine “what”, “how” and “why” we influence others. Who are you? What do you believe about you? What is your deepest “Why?” These are questions that each of us will come across and start to answer if we intentionally move toward growth. They are also important questions for us to answer as we look at how we

The Intentional Marriage

Our mission is to assist couples to plot a course through intentional choices that result in action that empowers growth in Christ.

Today’s marriages need intention more than ever before. With the divorce rate at approximately 50% percent for first marriages, 67% for second and 74% for third marriages, couples need to spend time looking at what is important in keeping marriage fresh and alive! We are committed to helping couples reach a new level of effectiveness in their marriage.